Improvement in vehicle-axles



. G. BECK.

Vehicle-Axle.

Patented 0er. 26,1875.

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. /MM M N- PETERS. PNOT TJNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE GEORGE BECK, OFCHARLOTTE, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN VEH|CLEAXL`ES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 169,226, dated October26, 1875; application filed July 9,1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE BECK, of Charlotte, in the county of Monroeand State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Axles for Carriages, Ste.; and I do` hereby declare thatthe followingl is a full, clear, and exact description of theconstruction and operation of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical'section in line a; a: of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectionin line y y of Fig. 1.

My improvement relates to compound or double-acting axles for allowingone wheel to move faster than the other in passing curves.

The invention consists in the combination, with such an axle, of afriction arrangement of peculiar construction, as hereinafter described,whereby the axles are made to turn with the wheels with the minimumamount of friction, while the axles allow one wheel to turn faster thanthe other in passing curves, as before specified.

A A represent two of the wheels of a carriage, which may be either thefront or hind wheels. The Wheel A is made fast to one end of an exteriortubular axle, B, and the other wheel, A', is made fast to the oppositeend of the interior axle B. These axles pass one through the other, andare secured by a nut, a. This arrangement allows a free turn` ing ofeach wheel and its axle independent of the other wheel and its axle, sothat in passing curves either wheel may turn faster than the otherwithout dragging or any undue friction, which would occur were bothwheels made. fast to a single axle.

I combine with this double axle the following frictional device: C C aretwo circular collars, secured fast to the outer axle at suitabledistance apart, and provided each with an internal semicircular groove,b. D D are corresponding circular bearings or boxes resting around thecollars, and provided each with a corresponding semicircul ar groove, c.In these grooves, between the two parts, are tted looselya series ofballs or globes, dd d. The bearings D D rest loosely on top the ballsand support the carriage-body, being attached to the latinner circle issomewhat eccentric to the circle of the collars O, so as to leave agreater width of the grooves at the bottom than at the top, by whichmeans the balls at the sides and in Ithe bottom do not receive thefriction, but the latter all comes upon one or two balls at the top, asshown in Fig. 2. By this means the friction of the balls is greatlyreduced, and they cannot crowd or grind together at the point where theweight comes, but are entirely free, except at the top. I have at leastthe space of one ball free in the circle of balls, so that no crowdingcan occur. The circle of the grooves b c, in cross-section, is somewhatwider than that of the balls, so

that the latter bear in the grooves only at the y center, leaving thesides of the grooves free of contact, as shown in Fig. l.

In light carriages and wagons one of lthese frictional devices on eachside is all that is re` quired. In heavy wagons each collar may have adouble groove and two sets of balls, and on railroad-cars or other heavyvehiclestwo collars on a side may be used-one on each side of the wheel.v

The improvement is not only adapted to or,- dinary carriages and wagons,but also to railroad-cars, street-cars, and other vehicles.

In passing over level surfaces both Wheels roll together, and the axlesturn in unison, neither moving independently; but in turning curves oneaxle and its wheel moves independently of the other, thereby preventingdrag- .ging of the outer wheel.

In carriages I thus avoid the use of loose wheels and the necessity ofremoving and oiling the same, and the irregular and rattling action thatalways occurs with such wheels, especially when worn.

The whole friction is taken by the balls, and. since these roll fromtheir contact with a stationary and movable surface, they have noappreciable friction, and hence require no oiling. If desired, a sm allquantity of oil may be used; but itis not necessary. p

I am aware that compound axles resting one within the other have beenknown in railroadcars. I am also aware that friction-balls have Thebearings D D are, prefer been employed to reduce-friction. Such are notthe equivalent of my invention.,

LWhat I claim as new is- The combination, with the compound axle B B',of the collars C C and boxes'D D', formed with grooves b c, which areeccentric to each other and deepest at the bottom to receive the balls dd, and ot' larger diameter in cross-section than the balls, the wholearranged so that the balls receive friction at the top of the axle,

thereby preventing crowding and grindingiof the balls in the groove, asherein shown and described. p

In witnesswheref I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

GEORGE BECK. Witnesses:

E. B. SCOTT, R. F. OsGooD.

